Improvement in apparatus for transmitting and receiving signals



.1. s. erssomm. APPARATUS FOR TRANSMITTING AND RECEIVING SIGNALS, 89c.

Patented Nov. 28, 1876 No. 184, 77 I.

UNITEn JoHN sAoHEvERELn GIISBTORNE," or BUOKINGHAM siren-Er, LONDON,

, ENGLAND.

IMPROVEMENT IN APPARATUS FOR TRANSMITTING AND RECEIVING SIGNALS. &c.

Specifieationforming part of Lettrs'Pat'ent No. 184,774," dated November28,1876 application filed September 27,1876.

To an whomit'mdiy camera; I n

Be it known that I, JOHN'SLGHEV ERELL GISBORNE, of Buckingham streenLondon, in the county of Middlesex and Kingdom' of England, electricalengineer, have invented Improvements in Apparatus for Transmitting andReceiving Signals and Orders orMes sages, of which the following isaspecification:

This invention has'for' its object the cheapening andsi'rnplifying theconst'ructionof me chanical telegraphs intended il1( )1'6 'part'icn}larly 'for use on board st'eain andsailing ships for transmittingordersfr'on the f bridge? to the engine-room vor tofthe 'steersrnan, andfo'r enabling the' order so transmittedtofbe repeated onthetransmittinginstruinent, the said improved apparatus beingalso'applicable for use in mines, buildings,'and' other places also onboard meh-of-wa'r and in forts or transmitting and repeating the ordersrequired for Working the guns. I p

According to'lny inventionI transmit the desired order from thetransmitter or sending. instrument to the" indicator onre'ceivingimstrument (which instrumentsmay'be situate at any'distance apart and inany desi'redrela tive positions) by a single flexible connector, incombination with a Weight or sp ingat said connector being attached oneend to the periphery of a wheel or quadrant contained inside the casingof the transmitter, while'itsopposite end is attached tothe periphery ofanother wheel or quadrant con} tained inside theindi'ca-t'or. Therepeating on: the dial of the transmitter of 'thejorder which has'beengiven is alsoefiected'jby'a single; flexible'connector and weightorspring, which connector is, in caseof 'a steering-telegraph, attachedso a wheel or quadrant 'in'ountd on the rudder-post, orotherwiseea'used" to turn by themotion of the rudder, so that 'the:rud-

der itself acts as a tell-tale by indicating its position on the" dialof thetransniitter. The

connector which I prefer to employ consists of pieces of chain'ofsufficient length to allow for the requisite amount of travel round thef different pulleys or quadrants andguide-pulleys, with intermediatelengthjsfof straight rods or Wires "attached thereto;

The same" arrangement may beused ar-aun ie for gijvf .ing a reply backfrom the distantsignal to 3'is1a'front elevation of the'inilicator Iojr'receivinginstrument, and Fig. 4 is a 'cor're' sponding vertical sectionof ithesame, taken at right angles 'theretoL' This in'struinent is to besituate in convenient proximity to the person for whom the orders are"intendeiljjfor eXample,'on board ship it would. be placed in theei1gine room, or in fronti'of thesteersinan, as the'case may be, so thatany order sentby the transmitter niay be readily'observ ed oii the dialof the indicator, and the salneordr repeated back to the dial'of thetransmitter, T

u is thejca'singor head of the transmittefi w'hichmay be mounted on ahollow pedestal: (Jr-stan er convenient height for the'hand iof theoperator. b is a' dial, bearing on its "rate the various orders "to besent. 0 is a central spindle or bolt, which carries two separate andindependent tubular spindles, d and a,

turning freely thereon. The tubular spindle d has fast thereon a' doubleor single grooved pulley or 'uaarann f, while the tubularjspindlee'carries, in like manner, a single robved p y q f n yt V Onthe squaredouter'end of the tubula'r spindle dthereis mounted the pointer 'h, andonIthesqiiaredi'outerend of thetubiilar spin-- die 6: there issi'milar'ly moun ed the actuating lever-handle'i, to which is connected,outside the casing, the pointer A spri'ng-lever, l, is hinged at 'm tothebackof theactuatiug handle, and carries at 'its'lo wer end a pih,"n,fwhich, when the spring-lever isrelease'd, enf ters' one or other ofaseries 'of' holes'jor notches made in'the back ot 'tht casing, therebeing: 'a holeor notch to correspond to each order on the "dial.

The indicator or receiving instrument, Figs. 3 and 4, is of a similarconstruction to the transmitter or sending instrument, the parts whichcorrespond to those in the transmitter being-marked with the sameletters'of reference accented. In Fig. 3 the dial is shown as facing inthe same direction as the dial ot'the transmitter above, but in Fig. 4 Ihave shown the dial of the indicator as facing in the op be more clearlyunderstood on referring to' the diagrams (drawn to a smaller scale) atFigs. 5 and 6, which represent, respectively, the arrangement oftransmitting and repeating connectors when the dials of bothinstruinents look the-same way or correspond to Figs. 1 and 3. Theweight W is suspended by a cord or chain, 10, which is attached to andpasses partly round the second groove of the double-grooved pulley f,and hangs from the same side of the said pulley as that on ,which theconnector 0 entersit from the transmitter.

' The repeating-connector 0, Fig. 6, which is employed for repeating onthe dial 6f the transmitter the order transmitted, is attached to andpasses partly around the pulley g in the indicator at one end, while itsother end is at tached to, and passes partly around, one of the groovesof the double-grooved pulley f in the transmitter. A weight, W, or aspring, is

suspended from, or attached to, the periphery of thesecond groove in thesaid pulley f, the said weight being suspended by a cord or chain, 19,from the opposite side of the periphery of the pulley to that on whichthe repeating-connector 0 enters from the indicator.

When the dials of the two instruments look in opposite directions, as inFigs. 2 and 4, then the arrangement of the connectors o 0, with theirweights or springs W W, will be as shown in the diagrams, Figs. 7 and 8.When using a single in lieu of a double grooved pulley, the connector ispinned to both the pill leys, and the weight or spring attached to the.free ends of the connector itself.

pointerk opposite to the order to be trans mitted. This movement of thehandleimparts 'a corresponding movement to the tubular spindle e andpulley g, which is transmitted to the pulley f in the indicator by thesingle flexible connector 0. It the handle be moved in one direction thesaid connector will be more or less wound around the periphery of thepulley g, and will, by turning thepulley f in the indicator, wind up theweight W. Should the handle of the transmitter be moved in the oppositedirection, it will allow the pulley f in the indicator to ,be turned inthe reverse direction by the action of the weight or spring W, and asthe pointer h in the indicator is fast on the tubular spindle d, whichcarries the pulley f, the said pointer will in either case move inconcert with the handle of the transmitter, and will, consequently,indicate the corresponding order on the dial of the indicator. Onarriving at the order required, the pointer 70 of, the transmitter willbe held in that position by releasing the springlever l, which willcause the stop-pin a to enter the corresponding-hole or notch in theback of the instrument.

The order thus transmitted is replied to by being repeated on the dialof the transmitter, by moving the actuating-handle 13 of the in dicatoror receivinginstrument, Figs. 3 and 4, so as tobring its pointer k tothe order received, thereby turning the pulley g, and, through theaction of the single connector 0 or of the weight or spring W, as thecase may be, on the pulley f, moving the pointer h of the transmitteraround to the corresponding order on its dial, thus showing that theorder has been received and understood.

It will be obvious that, according to the arrangement of connector andweightor spring, hereinbefore described, the weight or spring will, insome cases, be the actual prime mover,

and will, in fact, tend to draw the actuatinghandle 6 or i of theinstrument over in one directi on when released ,hence the necessity forthe stop-pin n and holes or notches, to maintain the said handle inposition. ()n the other hand, when the actuating-handle is moved in thereverse direction, the gravity of the weight or the power of the springwill have to be overcome. Should any inconvenience arise from thisaction of the weights or springs, the arrangement shownin the diagramsFigs. 9 and 10 may be adopted. I

According to this arrangement I attach a counter-weight orcounter-spring, O W, to one side of the pulley g in the transmitter, andanother counter-weight or counter-spring, G W,

- to one side of the pulley g in the indicator, in

such a manner that the said counter weights or springs shall neutralizethe action of the weights or springs NV and W, already referred i to,and enable the actuatinghandle '5 1' of either instrument to remain atrest in any position without the necessity for a stop-pin or otherretaining-catch.

If desired, a striking-gong may be combined with the indicator, as shownin Figs. 3 and 4;, for the purpose of calling the attention of theperson for Whom the order is intended. The

gong q may be attached to any convenient part of the indicator, and bestruck by oneor other of the two hammers 1' r as the pointer 11/ passesaround in either direction from one orcenter at 'v, and is provided witha projecting arm, w, on each side, for the purpose of raising the stemof one or other of the springhammers r, and suddenly releasing it, so asto cause either of the hammers to strike the gong as each pin deflectsand releases the spring- ;lever uin either direction.

Although I have described and illustrated a mode of working a gong inconnection with my peculiar single flexible connectortelegraph andrepeating instrument, I wish it to be understood that I do not claimsuch gong arrangement as constituting any part of my said invention.

It is obvious that inlieu of using a circular dial and revolving pointereither in the transmitter or in the indicator, a straightindicating-tablet may be used having the requisite orders markedthereon, the pointer or indicator being caused to travel longitudinallyalong such tablet from one order to another by a single flexibleconnector. This connector is attached, at one end, to theactuating-handle of the transmitter, while its opposite'end is attachedto the pointer of the indicator-tablet, a weight or spring being soconnected tothe said pointeras to cause it to travel in one direction bythe actionrof the said weight or spring, or, if preferred,counter-weights or counter-springs may be combined with thebefore-mentioned weights or springs, so as to neutralize their action,and enable the handle of the transmitter or of the indicator to remainat any given order without the necessity for stops or catches, as beforeexplained.

In applying my singleflexible-connector arrangement to what is known asa rudder tell-tale, it is simply requisite to attach one end of thesingle flexible connector to a wheel or quadrant mounted directly on therudderpost itself, or caused to turn by intermediate gear from therudder-post, the opposite end of the said connector being attached tothe pulley f of the steering-transmitter, so that the rudder itself willalways indicate its position on the dial of that instrument, which ismarked with the usual steering-orders as well as with degrees. The dialof the steering-indicator, by which the steering-orders are indicated tothe stcersman, is also marked with the same orders and degrees. Isometimes propose to employ a single flexible connector as an enginetell-tale for indicating on the bridge, or elsewhere on a separate dialor tablet, the direction of rotation, as wellas the number ofrevolutions of the engine-shaft, so

that the order, having been transmitted to the engineer and repeated byhim by the apparatus hereinbefore described, a further check will beobtained by causing the engine itself to indicate on the separate dialor tablet the direction and speed of working. This I accomplish by asingle flexible connector, which passes over, or partly round, a pulleyor quadrant carrying the pointer of the said indicatin g-instrument, andhas both its ends attached 1 to springs, which act in oppositedirections. I

An eccentric or tappet is fitted on the engineshat't in close proximityto the said flexible connector, and so arranged that at every revolutionof the engine-shaft the said eccentric or tappet will cause theconnector to be sud-- denly pulled and released again, the result beingthat the pointer on the corresponding dial or tablet will be deflectedin one direction or the other, according as the engines are- I am awarethat it has been already prov posed to work mechanical telegraphs withdouble or endless flexible connectors passing round the pulleys of thetransmitter and indicator in the form of an endless band or doubleconnectors, such an arrangement necessitating not only the use of anunnecessary length of connector, but also an increased number ofintermediate guide-pulleys for the proper guiding of the said doubleconnectors; and, therefore, I lay no claim to the use of flexibleconnectors generally in the class of mechanical telegraphs hereinreferred to neither do I claim, generally, the use of a single flexibleconnector for transmitting motion from an actuating-lever to a signalingapparatus, as I am aware that such'an arrangement has long been knownand used as applied to railway-signals; but

What I consider to be novel and original,

and, therefore, claim as my invention, is

1. The combination, with an indicating-dial and transmittingwheel orsegment, g, and connector 0, of the repeating-connector 0, wheel orsegment f, and pointer, substantially as set forth. i

2. The transmitting mechanism, substantially as specified, for giving adistant signal, in combination with the repeating mechanism,substantially as set forth, to indicate at the transmitting end thereception of the message, substantially as specified.

In witness whereof I have signed my name in the presence of twosubscribing witnesses.

JOHN SAOHEVERELL GISBORNEV Witnesses:

EDWIN P. ALEXANDER,

14 Southampton Buildings, London. A. E. ALEXANDER,

14 Southampton Buildings, London.

